Colorado Springs Man Celebrates Third Big Lottery Win

Friday September 7th 2018

The Colorado Lottery has dubbed one player ‘the luckiest man in the state’ after he snapped up his third huge prize in the space of 18 months. Paul G., from Colorado Springs, has won a total of $1 million from three scratchcard games and has no intention of stopping now.

Paul’s first big win came in March 2017 when he won $250,000 on the Thrilling Crossword instant scratch game. More recently, he has enjoyed a spectacular month after winning $500,000 in a 2nd Chance drawing on August 14th and then claiming another $250,000 payout on August 28th.

The latest win also came in a 2nd Chance drawing, on the Royal Crossword game, and Paul was quick to offer advice to other lottery fans when he came forward with his wife Terri to be presented with his oversized check this week. “If you’re not playing 2nd Chance, you’re missing out,” he said. “It cuts your odds of winning the top prize by about half.”

Paul, who works in shipping and receiving at Schriever Air Force Base, is such a dedicated lottery player that he has even developed a strategy to help him work out when it is best to play specific games. He explained: “I got a little spreadsheet, where I make sure which ones I want to buy and which ones are out of the top prizes, my personal thing, and she laughs at me for it.”

Holiday Plans For ‘Million Dollar Man’

Paul and Terri were joined by his brother Dave and their granddaughter Lilly in the Denver claims office on Wednesday. Family has always been the priority for the happy couple, and they have already given each of their four adult children a portion of their winnings.

They have also paid off their house and vehicles and are now looking forward to a holiday in Rome next spring, as well as possibly going on a Caribbean cruise. Paul is also optimistic that he will soon be celebrating another big win. Asked if he will keep playing lottery games, he replied: “Of course.”

The Colorado Lottery offers a wide range of games, including Lotto, Cash 5, Pick 3 and Lucky for Life, as well as the multi-state giants Powerball and Mega Millions. The Powerball jackpot is currently worth $114 million, while the top prize Mega Millions is even higher at $187 million.